26 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 3 09, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



at will, or add 0.5 to 1.0 percent 

 salt to mixed feed or pellets. Salt 

 blocks or spools will cause corro- 

 sion of any metal with which they 

 are in contact, so it is not advis- 

 able to use them in all-wire hutches. 

 In areas where the soil is deficient 

 in certain mineral elements, use 

 mineralized salts, as fed to other 

 farm animals, in rabbit rations. 



Water 



Rabbits need ready access to 

 fresh, pure water at all times. In 

 summer, they require large quanti- 

 ties. A 10- to 12-pound doe and 

 her 8-week old litter of seven will 

 drink about a gallon of water in 

 24 hours. 



Preparins and Storing Feeds 



Wliole grains are satisfactory 

 for feeding rabbits. Milled prod- 

 ucts, whether rolled, cracked, or 

 ground, lose some of their food 

 value and apparently become less 

 palatable if stored for any length 

 of time, especially during the sum- 

 mer. Coarse hay is more conveni- 

 ent to feed and less wasteful if you 

 cut it into 3- or 4-inch lengths. 

 Cutting the hay you feed to An- 

 gora rabbits helps keep the wool 

 clean. 



Sometimes you can save money 

 by storing home-grown . feed or 

 feed purchased as it is harvested. 

 Store it in rodent- and insect-proof 

 containers. 



Protect grains, pellets, hay, or 

 other feeds and bedding materials 

 from contamination by cats or 

 dogs; otherwise the rabbits may 

 become infested with a cat or dog 

 tapeworm. 



Methods of Feeding 



Two methods of feeding are in 

 general practice. One entails plac- 



ing a measured amount of feed in 

 feed crocks or troughs each day, 

 and is referred to as "hand feed- 

 ing." The other utilizes a hopper, 

 or self-feeder, which holds several 

 days' supply of feed, and is re- 

 ferred to as "self-feeding" or "full- 

 feeding," since feed is available to 

 the rabbits at all times and they 

 can feed at will. Crocks or troughs 

 may be used for full-feeding, but 

 will have to be filled more fre- 

 quently than hoppers and are more 

 susceptible to waste and contami- 

 nation. The hopper feeding sys- 

 tem saves time and labor and pre- 

 \ents waste and contamination if 

 the hop])er is properly constructed. 



Full-feeding in crocks or troughs 

 produces about the same results as 

 hopper feeding, provided you feed 

 the animals all they will consume 

 each day without waste. If you 

 cannot give close attention, hopper 

 feeding will give better results. 



^Vliether, in hand feeding, a herd 

 of rabbits should be fed 1, 2, or 

 3 times a day is largely a matter 

 of personal preference and con- 

 venience. Regularity is more im- 

 portant than the number of feed- 

 ings. Rabbits eat more at night 

 than during the day, especially in 

 warm weather. 



Full feeding insures rapid 

 growth and economical develop- 

 ment of young to weaning. Full- 

 fed rabbits generally require less 

 feed than hand-fed rabbits to 

 produce each pound of live weight 

 because they eat frequently and 

 slowly and chew their food thor- 

 oughly. 



Occasionally a rabbit goes "off 

 feed." "Wlien this happens, reduce 

 the quantity of the ration. The 

 offer of a tempting morsel of car- 

 rot, bread and milk, or fresh green 

 feed may induce the rabbit to be- 

 gin eating again. 



